


If My Heart Is Swayed

by ShiroHatzuki



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Coffee Shops, Complicated Relationships, F/F, Pining, angst? angst, sexual references but dont worry. there are no details/nothing is explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23437114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiroHatzuki/pseuds/ShiroHatzuki
Summary: "I love you." Kaede's eyes were decisive despite the slight tremble of her lips and how tightly her hands were clenched around the cup. Her feelings were genuine, and perhaps that was reason enough for the nervousness that she displayed.Tsumugi was rendered speechless at this confession, for she could have never predicted it. In truth, she did have a certain adoration for the pianist, from how she almost glowed when she played the piano to how she smiled wide to how her hair seemed golden in the sunlight. But for all of those things she could love Kaede for, she was held back by a force. A love so poisonous that it was an addiction.-------In which Tsumugi is caught in between a real romance with the girl in front of her and the doomed love she had been chasing for years.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Tojo Kirumi, Akamatsu Kaede/Shirogane Tsumugi, Enoshima Junko/Shirogane Tsumugi (one-sided), Shirogane Tsumugi & Tojo Kirumi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	If My Heart Is Swayed

It was undeniable that Tsumugi had some interest in the person Kaede. From the very first morning when she burst through the doors of the coffee shop, she had been watching the unique woman as closely as she dared.

One thing about being the owner of a such a business was that it was not strange to observe those who walked through the shop doors. For instance, Tsumugi knew that the man named Hajime had three different jobs before becoming an office worker, and he always came into the shop in the afternoon to get coffee for his coworkers. Of all of them, the straight espresso was his. Sakura was a martial arts instructor that came in a few minutes before closing after her own schoolwas done for the day. She got a fairly generic coffee to mix with protein powder and another, sweeter coffee to bring home to her wife. Chisa was a home economics teacher and liked her cappuccinos to have a bit more foam. Kazuichi was a car mechanic that wanted his coffee to be more milk than coffee. Ryoma, Seiko, Matsuda, Kyoko; the list of names went on.

Thus, it was within explanation when Tsumugi knew about little parts of Kaede's life even beyond the walls of the coffee shop. She was a dedicated music teacher at a high school not too far away. Her best friends from college were a physics teacher, Kaito, and a preschool teacher, Maki. Kaede used to date a man that is a detective who works closely with the local police of the area. She played the piano, and according to her friends, she played it well.

It was that last point the stuck out to Tsumugi. She was certainly curious about this piano playing, and one afternoon, it might have been what compelled her to purchase the old upright piano she saw on sale in a shop window.

Her purchase turned out to be beneficial for everyone. Every weekend, Kaede stayed in the shop for hours from late morning to early evening to play. That Sunday was no different. The upbeat melody coming from the piano filled her ears as she finished off a macchiato. Around her, the shop was full of people conversing quietly with friends or listening to the music.

"Do you feel like there's been more people coming here recently?" Kirumi whispered to her from the other side of the counter.

Tsumugi passed her employee the completed cup. "It does feel like there is," she agreed.

"Like a pied piper..." Kirumi left with that, taking the cup to the customer.

Kaede certainly a charm to her that seemed to be cast on everyone that met her. For one, her skills on the piano were incredible, and she always played music that was pleasing to the ears. Yet even without that, she was a magnetic person. She was the type that people could be easily approach and converse with. It was hardly a wonder that her friends stayed close to her, or that even Kirumi would have a crush on her.

"Tsumugi," a cheery voice called to her Speak of the devil. Kaede leaned over the counter almost as if to tell her a secret. But Tsumugi knew that it was more likely for something related to the reason anyone else was a customer. 

"The usual?" she inquired, already in the motions of making it.

"You know me so well," Kaede sang.

In a few minutes, the cup was done with a thin, cardboard cozy wrapped around the paper cup. She placed the cup on the counter and found Kaede's slim fingers already sliding her some money from the other side of the counter. "Well, I was going to say that this was on the house," Tsumugi commented. 

The other woman shrugged. "Force of habit." She gave a nod at the disposal cup. "And even though I do usually order to-go, you know I have the time to stay in here today."

She mirrored Kaede's shrug. "Force of habit."

At the end of the day, the shop was emptied of people except for her and Kirumi. They counted money, checked their stock, then closed up the shop. Kirumi left soon afterwards, leaving Tsumugi alone. She climbed the steps in the back of the shop until she reached her apartment.

The apartment was what she considered to be a love nest occupied by only one person. There was a bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Everything comfortably small and fit for a single person. Yet looking at the apartment, it would seem like it was dressed for a second resident. Extra chairs, dishware, bedding, empty storage, and even an extra toothbrush set out in the bathroom.

Tsumugi took a seat at the table, slipping a piece of paper from the stack of stationary. Grabbing a pen, she let the ink slide across the paper. These letters usually had a formula they went by. Ask about the happenings of the world, give a small update on how she was doing, and finish with an expression of love. This time, she inquired about Vegas. Talked about how purchasing a piano was the correct call. Mentioned how she wished to share a dinner with the same lovely music playing in the background. Was filled with longing and love.

Probably the only problem that she had with Junko Enoshima was that the woman was hard to track down. As soon as Tsugumi gets a hint about the other's whereabouts, she had to write one of these letters and send it out as soon as she could less she would miss the small window where Junko was not on the road again. But she could not even be sure that Junko was receiving the letters. After all, there was never any reply, and there was no social media account that could be followed. Word of mouth was her only clue.

Still, she loved Junko with all her heart. She had ever since they had met in high school. Her heart fluttered everytime she heard word of the woman, and the chase only made her more in love. She could not hold down Junko, nor did she wish to restrict the other's lifestyle, but she just wanted the other to know that there was a home to return to.

Tsumugi did not mind this repetition day in and day out. She had been writing these letters for several years now, and falling into habit made the letters seem as ordinary as the pigeons that pecked at the ground outside. This quality may have been the reason behind her persistence despite the actual strangeness of it. For the most part, she prefered the normal. The mundane. Excitement and anticipation wore down on her if taken in too large of quantities. But this relationship she had with a woman that always ran towards some other horizon felt right to her despite her usual preferences, and as the months and years passed, she had stopped thinking of its oddities.

Or perhaps it was the other way around. There was a chance that Tsumugi truly loved the strange, but Junko had taken all of that love. Thus, there was no feeling left for some wild thing that was not her beloved. It would not be below her.

\-----------

"You like her, don't you." It was about a few minutes before opening one day when Kirumi prompted this very suddenly. So suddenly that Tsumugi almost dropped a cup in her shocked confusion.

"I'm... sorry? What? Who?" she stammered out, trying to recall if she missed something Kirumi said before that would give context to this conversation.

"Kaede," Kirumi clarified. "You're interested in her, correct?"

So that was what this was about. Still, she was not quite sure that she was having this conversation with the stoic Kirumi, of all people. "Now Kirumi, there's no way I would steal the lovely Kaede from you," Tsumugi joked.

The young woman flushed slightly. "I already told you that I don't feel that way towards her," she retorted, her soft and polite tone seeming to strain a bit in her embarrassment. Of course, Tsumugi knew that her employee definitely did like Kaede. At one point, anyways. Did that ever change?

"Of course, of course." Tsumugi shook her head. "But you know I'm also not going to see her like that. It's plain as day that she is our best customer, and if she would allow it, I would be honored to see her as my friend." She started to wipe down the countertop of any dust. "But no more than that.

"Anyways, I'm in a dedicated relationship."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kirumi give her a surprised expression. The bell to the shop's front door rang. Speak of the devil. Tsumugi was already moving to create the usual cup for Kaede.

One thing to note is that Tsumugi never considered loving anyone else but Junko. The woman was her first love, and she swore she would dedicate herself to Junko for as long as she lived. To have any affection for anyone else was unthinkable to her. She had no idea what she would do if there ever came a time when she fell out of love with Junko.

She was sure that would never happen.

\-----------

Tsumugi found that she was caught off guard when she heard the door open again while she was still making Sakura's cup. It was not often that there would be customers coming in after Sakura, especially on a Friday evening. And upon looking up, she found that the person who entered furthered her surprise.

"Hey," Kaede greeted with a smile upon making eye contact with Tsumugi.

"Kaede." Tsumugi gave a nod, though her mind was racing as to the reason why Kaede would be here at this hour. After all, the woman only came to buy coffee in the morning. "What brings you here so late?"

Kaede indicated at the bag slung over her shoulder. "Well, if it's fine with you, I was wondering if you'd let me play the piano a bit. Just to figure out this one part real fast."

While this request was not one Tsumugi was expecting, she found herself already nodding her head in agreement. "Of course. The piano's all yours."

Because of that, even after the shop had closed and Kirumi had left for home, Tsumugi still found herself in the shop. It was odd for her to stick around this late nowadays, especially when she was not teaching Kirumi anything new or creating a new item for the menu. Still, just sitting around and listening to Kaede play was something of a treat that she was greatful for on such an evening. She even found herself already missing the music when the other woman finally finished.

"Sorry for keeping you so late," Kaede told her with a slight bow of her head.

Tsumugi shook her hands in front of her towards the other, palms out. "Oh, no no, don't worry about it. I honestly really like to hear you play at any time." She meant it genuinely, but it was a bit embarrassing to say.

"Well, I'm glad to play for you any time." Kaede brushed her hair behind her ear before quickly packing up her things. "Ah, well, I'll get out of your hair now."

They said their farewells, Kaede left, and Tsumugi closed up the shop. On light feet, she climbed up the stairs to her apartment. As she made herself a late dinner, she could still hear the music replaying in her mind. The melodies created by Kaede's hands had casted a spell on her heart. Even as she climbed into her bed, she could feel the rush of song through her. Perhaps only Kaede's music could cast such an enchantment.

It felt like falling in love.

Tsumugi bolted upright. Was she so stupid that she had actually forgotten? With panicked steps, she stumbled out of bed and to the table. Hurriedly, she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote like a madman with shaky strokes, crying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" from start to end of her letter. Even though only one person should be in her mind, a certain woman with beautiful blond hair and a stunning smile ebbed her way into her heart.

"I love you, my dearest Junko," she sobbed as she signed the letter. She did not even know what she wrote, nor did the contents matter. "I'm so sorry. I love you."

\-----------

Tsumugi could not completely avoid interacting with Kaede, but she wanted to. This woman had single-handedly turned her heart down a road she did not even want to begin going down, and such a change in direction was frightening, to say the least. She did not want this to happen. She was not ready for something like this to happen. Thus, she kept her interactions with the woman in question as short as politely possible for a week.

Throughout the week, she could feel Kirumi give her curious glances. Surely her perceptive employee had noticed her avoidance of their regular customer. Maybe Kaede noticed as well, but no comments were made. That was more than fine to Tsumugi. She did not want to even start explaining herself.

She wrote letters like mad until the table was overflowing with them. She was not even sure if she was going to send them, or if they would ever be received by anyone. Still, the letters were written, as if possessed every time she entered her apartment. But even when she knew her hand was hurting and shaking every time she went to work, she did not care. She had to write.

Then, on a weekend evening, Kaede had stayed late after playing the piano. It was almost as if the world was cursing her, for Kirumi was busy attending to other customers. Meaning that she was the one that had to bring coffee to the woman. She steeled her nerves as she made the cup. Well, hopefully she would not have to face the music this time, but perhaps such a blessing would not come. At the last second, she noticed that she had made Kaede's drink in a to-go cup. Quickly, she grabbed a ceramic cup and poured the drink inside.

Tsumugi straightened her back and walked the cup over to the table that Kaede was sitting at. "Here you go. On the house," she announced as she set the cup down in front of the woman.

"Thank you, Tsumugi." At that point, Tsumugi was already turning to leave, but a sungle word for Kaede froze her. "Wait."

She had to comply. There was no reason for her to, but she was caught by this strange but wonderful woman's spell. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face Kaede.

And then Kaede was all "I wuuuvvvv u Tsumugi!!!"

And Tsumugi was all "I uwuuv uwu towo, Kauwude <3 <3 <3"

Then they smooched like *kissy kissy kissy kiss!* o(^///^o)

Then they went to Tsumugi's apartment and had super smexy times (/o//w//o/)

Also Junko was there XDDDDDD

**Author's Note:**

> As you can tell, this is an April Fools joke. To think that the work that would bring me back to fanfic writing would be this crack head shit.
> 
> Actually, that was also a lie, I'm not back into writing fanfic. Time for more radio silence from me? Oh yeah.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you have a lovely day :)


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